We have been discussing Christian maturity in relation to the prophetic—especially how it can impact the way we interpret impressions. On the impression level of prophetic revelation, the immature can be prone to mix in their own feelings, even when they are temporary such as caffeine withdrawal, prejudices for good or bad, and opinions. It does take the kind of experience that can only come from maturity to learn to separate what the Holy Spirit may be impressing upon us and what are our own senses.
You expect two-year olds to wear diapers and make a mess with just about everything they touch. We have to allow the young in Christ to be immature, and yes, make messes. Young and immature prophetic people will act like young and immature prophetic people. The belief that some have tried to impose on the prophetic—that if you made one mistake you are a false prophet—inhibits their maturity, or worse, it can profoundly distort their character.
What teacher could teach if they were under the burden that if they made one mistake, they would be considered a false teacher? What pastor could ever give counsel to anyone if they were under the pressure that if they made just one mistake, they would be considered a false shepherd? Such would pervert these ministries, just as that yoke imposed on young prophetic people can distort their development.
We’ll discuss this a bit more later, but just having prophetic gifts does not make one a prophet. The office of prophet is a special commission, and until we have received that commission from above, we should just consider ourselves Christians who are trying to grow in the gifts and fruit of the Spirit to be the greatest servant to Him that we can be. We likewise need to give grace to those who are just trying to mature in their calling and gifts.
One of the primary gates of hell through which a religious spirit gains entry to the church is through more mature believers wrongly judging and condemning younger believers for their behavior, which is usually simple immaturity. We must not allow that yoke to be put on us or on those we have charge over. The young need to be allowed to be immature and to mature in a normal way, a lot of which has to do with learning from our mistakes.
Without question, we have a general problem in the church with many believers not maturing as they should. I think this was the real definition of the Lord’s warning about the last days when He said, “Woe to those who nurse babes in those days” (see Matthew 24:19), which I think could have been interpreted as, “Woe to those who keep their people in immaturity.” Certainly we need to be maturing, but we must let people mature at the right pace just as the apostles, elders, and Holy Spirit were resolved to do with the new Gentile believers.
This is where moderation is so essential. Since we are still covering how impressions are one way that the Lord speaks to us, but also how to discern the difference between something He has impressed on us from our own prejudices or perspectives—moderation is a key factor in this. A moderate person will not tend to be so judgmental or to see people in extremes. There is a time to see matters in extremes because that is the truth, but we don’t want to do this because we are extreme.
The perception that most seem to have about prophetic ministries is that they are extremists and see everything in extremes. This may be the case for the immature, and it is true there are factors which are hindering people from maturing in the prophetic while staying in a typical church. I hear people say they want to be a “grace prophet,” and others like to be severe, but if we are going to be the real thing, we should not lean toward any such label, but rather be what we have to be to do the job that we’re assigned. Anything less just reveals that we are still babes.
We see in the Book of Revelation how the Lord Jesus had a different word for each of the seven churches even though they all existed at the same time and in the same general location. Some churches that have been prone toward legalism may need a strong grace message, while some churches that have been prone to lawlessness may need a word about the judgment of God. Paul wrote in Romans that we should “behold then the kindness and the severity of God” (see Romans 11:22). If we can only see His kindness, then we are not seeing Him as He is, and we are not likely to represent Him as He really is. If we can only see His severity, then the same is true. We must see them both together if we are to see Him as He is, and represent Him as He is.
